Put Them To Rest
by OverlordFelix
Summary: Ayumi's been having nightmares. Heavenly Host has been haunting her through the eyes of her fallen friends, every time she shuts her own. Her sister's vanished into the unknown just when she needs her most. How the heck can she get her friends to give her a decent nights sleep? While her sister's away and Satoshi's been spending time with Naomi, who will be left to keep her sane?
1. 1: Ayumi's Spirit TV In Your Dreams

**A/N: Hello, dear reader! Welcome to my first Corpse Party fanfic, my name is Felix and I will be your guide to this story! First up, I do not own Corpse Party, it belongs to Team GrisGris and other respective owners. I will not repeat this. Second, this is based after Corpse Party: Blood Covered...****Repeated Fear**** (the ****third remake of the first**** game for those unaware) and ****aims to tell the story of ****the four left behind and Ayumi and Yoshiki. Satoshi and Naomi don't have much of a role, if any, in this, sorry fans of them. Pairings ****will be Ayumi x Yoshiki and Mayu x Morishige. Perhaps some mentions of Yui x Tsukasa and one sided Seiko x Naomi.**

**-:-:-**

**Chapter One**

**Ayumi's Spirit TV...In Your Dreams**

Seiko's lungs burned. The lack of air made it feel like her lungs were on fire, and she could still feel the tug of the rope around her neck, crushing her airway. She had no idea how long she had been hanging there, from the ceiling, but it felt as if she'd been there for an eternity. Surely she was dead by now. She remembered the darkness overtaking her among Naomi's screams, she had been sure that was when she died. _Naomi! _She realised she couldn'thear her friend any more, she opened her eyes and saw nothing but the door of the stall.

"Naomi!" She cried at the top of her lungs and struggled to move. To her surprise she fell, sprawling on the ground. She groaned as she heaved herself to her feet, and gasped as she bumped into something cold and clammy behind her. With a shriek she spun around, and saw herself, dangling from a noose.

"Wha?" She squeaked, and looked down at her near-transparent, glowing, pale blue body. She screamed.

-:-:-

Mayu stood above Morishige as he screamed. She could find no way to capture his attention, not even calling his name through the phone, which had fallen from his hands. No matter what she did, she couldn't get Morishige to notice her presence.

"Shige-nii." She whispered, and for a moment, he glanced up at her before falling back into manic laughter.

"Mayu!" He screamed, "Mayu!" He rose to his feet, still screaming Mayu's name and laughing hysterically, and walked slowly down the hall, toward the window. Mayu had no idea what he intended to do, she knew the windows wouldn't open, but if he had intent to harm himself or another, she knew the damned school would let him.

"No, no! Shige-nii!" She shuffled as fast as she could towards him while trying not to break the weak stitches that held her spirit-form's body together, not noticing the recording symbol flashing on Morishige's fallen phone. Morishige was still laughing uncontrollably, an insane laugh, as high-pitched as his voice would allow, as he began to slam his head repeatedly into the window, causing small cracks to appear.

"No, stop! Shige-nii!" Mayu called out to him to no avail. Morishige continued to laugh, right until he threw himself through the window. He smiled to himself as he fell, he subconsciously knew it was probably a product of his tortured mind, but he swore he saw Mayu's head looking down at him from the smashed window. He shut his eyes, and entertained the idea, for a brief moment, the his precious Mayu's face was the last thing he saw before he hit the ground.

-:-:-

Ayumi woke with a start, breathing heavily and covered in cold sweat. She glanced around her familiar surroundings, calming herself with the fact that she was indeed in her own room. Her dream had placed her back in Heavenly Host, witnessing events through the eyes of Seiko and Mayu's spirits and feeling what they would have felt, including the pain. Dear God, the _pain._ It was like dying for eternity, the pain of the brink of death never ceasing. She shuddered, and pulled the blankets closer around her. It couldn't be real, could it? Before the events of Heavenly Host, she would've dismissed it as a disturbing nightmare and went about her business, but after that hell-hole school, some barrier in her mind had snapped and had left her open to spiritual influence. She groaned and rolled over. She needed to talk to her sister. She hadn't seen her since she got back from the Heavenly Host, and had taken the opportunity to tell someone who wouldn't send her to the psych ward when they heard her story. The next day, she woke to discover her sister had left for a "new job". Her parents didn't seem to know any details, and she knew they hated that, but Hinoe was an adult, and there was nothing they could do. In fact, they'd been hoping Ayumi would be able to tell them more, but for once, her sister had kept her in the dark even more than their parents. That had been two weeks ago, Hinoe hadn't come back since then, nor was she answering her phone, her parents were pretty much all out panicking but there was absolutely nothing they could do. Now, at the time that she needed her big sister most, she was gone. She saw the light leaking through her blinds and groaned once more, rolling out of bed and getting ready for school.

-:-:-

The morning trickled by more slowly than ever thought possible. By now the stares had started to abate from the group of survivors, as they never mentioned Ms Yui, Morishige, Mayu or Seiko since the day after the cultural festival. The other students, who had forgotten their teacher's and classmates' existences, also began to forget that the others had ever brought them up. Ayumi found it hard to concentrate on anything. Flashes of the dream kept coming back to her, unfortunately, that meant the sensation of her friend's deaths. She hadn't asked Satoshi or Naomi how Morishige died, but she had a suspicion that if they told her, it would probably coincide with what she felt in her dream.

"Uh, hey, Shinozaki?" A male voice called her out of her daydreaming. She started and looked up into the concerned face of one of her remaining friends, Yoshiki.

"Kishinuma, what's up?" She asked, disoriented. They were in class right? Surely the teacher would've told him off for getting up and talking to her.

"Class is over." He replied with a wry smile, gesturing to the last of their classmates trickling through the door. "Just thought you may want to know."

"Uh, yeah, thanks Kishinuma." She began to pack up her books and grab her lunch with hurried and jerky movements. Yoshiki frowned when he saw this, he was used to the calm, unshakeable Ayumi, with the exception of their time in Heavenly Host (though that was the exception to everyone, he supposed), and it rattled him to see her that way.

"Shinozaki what's wrong?" He gently and lightly touched her shoulder. Seemingly at his touch, she froze. Yoshiki hastily withdrew his hand, silently cursing himself. It was hard when he'd had her weeping in his arms at Heavenly Host, and now he had to remember to keep his distance, even if they were in an empty classroom.

"Do you ever dream about it?" She asked after what seemed like an eternity of frozen silence, still staring down at her desk. "Have nightmares, I mean, about-"

"Yeah." He cut her off before she could say 'Heavenly Host' and looked away from her, ashamed to say it, or indicate that it got to him. "All the time. Do you?"

She nodded and squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to suppress the events of last night's dream and the numerous nightmares before it. Yoshiki reached out a tentative hand, and once again placed it on her shoulder. He was caught off guard though when she spun around and embraced him, pressing her head against his chest and calming herself with the sound of his heartbeat, just like she had back in Heavenly Host. He didn't hesitate before wrapping his arms around her and pressing his cheek against the top of her head. They stayed that way for a moment before they heard someone clear their throat. Okay, so maybe it was a _nearly _empty classroom. They jumped apart and stared, wide-eyed at their teacher.

"Whatever you two are doing, I would appreciate it if you would take it outside so I may set up my next class." Mr Yamazaki in a half exasperated voice, wearing a sly grin. Ayumi felt heat creep up her face and quickly finished packing up her stuff, leaving Yoshiki to stand there awkwardly for a moment before they both ducked out of the classroom.

"I'm sorry, Kishinuma, I didn't mean-" Ayumi began to apologise for embarrassing him.

"It's fine, Shinozaki, really." He cut her off again, scratching his head. They lapsed back into silence, awkward tension was heavy in the air between them as they wandered around the school corridors. Yoshiki had hoped that after all they'd been through they would've grown closer together, if anything it had made them quieter. Naomi and Satoshi rarely spent time with them any more, and while Yoshiki was happy his best friend may finally have a shot with a girl, he missed him. It had seemed that he and Ayumi had spent the majority of their break time together on the roof, mostly in silent companionship and any conversation was only small talk. Their moment in the classroom was the first time the mere thought of Heavenly Host had been spoken. When Yoshiki snapped out of his daydreaming, he found himself with Ayumi on the roof, he wondered how long it had taken them to get there and how long they'd been standing there.

"What did you see?" He asked, breaking the silence. He felt her shiver next to him.

"I saw...no I was Seiko, in the moment she realised she was dead. A – and Mayu, as she watched Morishige ju – fall...and I felt _everything. _The pain..." She trailed off and Yoshiki turned his head on the side to look down at her. She had her head buried in her arms and her shoulders were shaking, he couldn't hear any sobbing but it alarmed him nonetheless.

"Hey, hey it's ok, Shinozaki, it's just a nightmare, right?" He rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her, and let out a gasp as she once again tried to bury her face in his shirt. This time, due to the fact that they were seated cross-legged on the roof, it proved a rather difficult venture. To counteract the problem, Yoshiki pulled her into his lap and let her ruin his favourite school shirt with her silent tears.

"I-I'm sorry, Kishinuma, I-" She began after she'd calmed down and attempt to climb out of Yoshiki's lap, but to her shock, he held her there. After a moment, she relaxed and leant back against him, placing her head on his shoulder. She glanced up at his face and saw him smile as he gazed out to the horizon.

"Don't ever apologise, Shinozaki, I'm here for you. I always will be." _I always have been_ he wanted to say, but didn't. He figured that was a conclusion she should come to on her own.

"I need to talk to my sister." She muttered. Yoshiki tried not to feel hurt, he had gotten her to tell him a bit, considering his persona that was a rather large accomplishment.

"To determine whether or not it was just a dream, I mean," she continued, "she's a spirit medium, you see." Immediately Yoshiki felt better. So it wasn't that she thought he was incapable of aiding her, it was because he _was _incapable of aiding her. On a psychic basis that is.

"How long of lunch is left?" She murmured, not moving from her comfortable spot on his shoulder.

"Hmm? Oh it ended about five minutes ago."

"It what?! Oh crap, I'm gonna be so late! Why didn't you tell me?" She leapt out of his lap, coming dangerously close to kneeing sensitive areas.

"I had a free, I thought you may have too. Sorry, I didn't know." Lie, he pretty much had her timetable memorised. It looked like she was going to yell some more, but must have decided it would waste more time and instead rushed to the stairwell. Yoshiki lay back with a small sigh.

_Half a step forward, __one __full step back._

"Oh and, Kishinuma?" He tilted his head back, praying she was far enough away that she wouldn't think he was looking up her skirt, 'till he spotted an upside-down Ayumi standing next to the doors.

"Thank you." Was all she said. He gave his typical wry smile and raised his left hand, wriggling his fingers at her in a farewell.

_Well, maybe not._

-:-:-

**A/N: So, you guys like it? Please drop a review letting me know what you think and if you want me to continue it. Favourite and follow if you think it deserves it! Please note, some words you may perceive as spelling errors are just the Australian spelling, I'm sorry but you'll have to put up with it as long as you read my stories. Thank you so much for reading!**

**- Felix**


	2. 2: Dr Shinozaki Diagnoses The Problem

**A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed and followed, and also those who simply read it. You're all awesome. To clarify any confusion, scenes with the spirits in Heavenly Host are the dreams of Ayumi. When a scene in Heavenly Host ends and goes back to Ayumi, it means she has just woken up from that vision. You're all awesome. Enjoy.**

-:-:-

**Chapter Two**

**Dr. Shinozaki Diagnoses the Problem**

"Suzumoto!" Yui saw her former student standing at a broken window, sobbing. The girl raised her transparent, pale blue head in alarm at the call.

"Yui Sensei!" She sniffled, and Yui paused. She only noticed as she neared, but Mayu was covered in stitches, barely holding together entirely split flesh. When she moved or spoke, the flesh stretched and jiggled, threatening to tear apart once again. It was a sickening sight, but Yui found it more sickening that it had happened to one of her students while they were under her care. Mayu noticed Yui staring and turned away, clearly ashamed.

"Oh, Suzume! You poor girl, what happened?" Yui asked, pulling Mayu into a gentle hug in an attempt to comfort her.

"Shige-nii, he-he-" Mayu broke of bawling, Yui was appalled.

"Morishige did this? I don't understand, how could he? He loved you, I never thought he'd be capable of even thinking of hurting you-"

"No, no! Shige-nii did this!" Mayu cried desperately, pointing to the broken window. Yui wobbled over to it and peered out, only to see a vaguely familiar, broken figure on the ground below.

She let out a small gasp. "Don't tell me that's-"

"Shige-nii!" Mayu wailed. This time, Yui couldn't comfort her. Instead she stood frozen in shock at the window, staring at the broken figure of a boy she once knew, lying in a pool of his own blood below.

-:-:-

Ayumi gasped as she was abruptly roused from yet another nightmare by a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Yoshiki?" She gasped in shock.

"No, it's your father. Ayato Shinozaki?" Came the reply in a bemused tone. _Crap._

"F-father?" She squeaked, preparing for the onslaught.

"That is me. Who's Yoshiki?" He asked her, folding his arms and standing in front of her.

"He's a friend from school, he's in my class." Her father raised an eyebrow at her.

"He's a he is he? Have you got a new crush, Ayumi? What happened to Mochida?"

"Kishinuma is just a friend. He's Mochida's best friend, in fact." That seemed to relax Ayato considerably. Ayumi's parents absolutely loved Satoshi, so evidently her father believed anyone associating with Satoshi must be a fine, upstanding young person too. It's better that way, if her parents found out the truth about Yoshiki, they'd probably force her to transfer and lock her up in an effort to squash any chance of him interacting with her.

"So, why are you in my room, father?" Ayumi asked, it was normal for her mother or sister to come in and talk to her, but her father was under the impression that a girls room was for girls only, and that was fine by Ayumi.

"You're not in your room. You fell asleep on the couch, probably after you got home from school." He frowned, it was unusual to come home and find his youngest daughter doing anything other than studying or drawing.

"Oh." Ayumi looked around her as she sat up and realised she was indeed in the lounge room.

"Are you alright, Ayumi? Have you not been sleeping?" Ayato asked with a concerned look on his face.

"I've just been a bit...restless." She answered. She couldn't tell her father about the nightmares. He would want to know exactly what they were about, why she as having them and how they could help her.

"You're worried about Hinoe, aren't you?" He sat down next to her putting a comforting arm around her shoulder. Despite her father's intentions, it more uncomfortably reminded her of Yoshiki holding her to him and her face involuntarily flushed.

"Y-yeah," she said, grateful for the provided reason. It was partially true, in any case. "Have you heard anything from her?" She asked hopefully.

Her father sighed. "Unfortunately your sister has neglected to contact us, if she can." He wore a half miserable, half angry look. In general, he looked so wrenched that Ayumi let the last part slide.

"Hey, I got some homework I need to do." She said, gently ducking under her father's arm.

"Of course." He gave her a warm smile. "I'll call you down when your mother gets home. How does takeaway sound? We'll celebrate the end of the week."

"Sounds good." She smiled back at her father and headed up to her room, however on the way she paused at Hinoe's door. After a moments hesitation, she pushed the door open, and entered. There was a chill in the air of Hinoe's room and it smelled rather musty, as if it had been unused for a long time, which was true. She wondered if her parents had searched Hinoe's room already. It would've been the first thing she would've done if she were them, but adults are rather dense, even those who gave her life.

Ayumi walked cautiously over to her sisters desk, neatly packed away with a small group of half-used scented candles on the edge. Smack bang in the middle of the desk was an envelope with _Ayumi _written on it in her sisters neat hand writing. So Ayumi guessed her parents had not been in here, unwilling to think one would be stupid enough to not open it or at the very least give it to her. Ayumi shook her head in wonder at the adult brain. Giving her sister's empty room one final glance, she quickly retreated to her own room to open the letter. When she opened it, a talisman fell out. It was one of the ones Hinoe was always giving to people who came to her for advice on the spirit world. It was supposed to calm the spirit and defend from evil. Confused at why her sister was giving her one, she took out the letter accompanying it;

_My dearest Ayumi,_

_I know it must be difficult to not have anyone at home to talk to after what happened, and I apologise for not being there. My advice in that regard is make an effort to reach out to your friends, some may be trying to repress the memories but that is as dangerous as reliving them, and I'm sure they need the help too. I worry that serious trouble may befall you now you have been exposed to the raw, harsh spirit world which is why I have enclosed the talisman. In addition to the usual properties, I hold the charm's twin, and as such have provided them the ability to communicate. The next time you sleep, follow your instincts and we'll talk soon._

_Love, Hinoe._

Ayumi smiled and put the talisman around her neck. To be honest, anything to do with the actual occult and spirit realm scared the shit out of her. She had known it existed her whole life, largely thanks to her sister, and it was why she researched all the stories and enjoyed scaring people with them. It made her feel on top of it all and in control when she was one of the few who knew the real danger behind the myths. The prospect of possibly speaking to her sister and getting rid of her nightmares seemed to beat the prospect of being apart of magic once again.

"Ayumi!" Ayato's voice carried up the stairs. "Your mother's home, come pick what you want for dinner." Ayumi carefully folded the letter and placed it back inside the envelope, hiding it under her mattress and ran downstairs to the kitchen.

"Ayumi, hello." Her mother, Asuka said warmly, wrapping Ayumi in a hug.

"So what did you feel like-" Ayato paused, staring at the talisman now around her neck. "Is that Hinoe's necklace?"

"No, it's similar. I found it on my desk, Hinoe must have left it and I didn't notice 'till now." Ayumi tried to explain quickly, only pausing to inhale after she finished. Her parents were nodding slowly, clearly still trying to figure out what she said.

"So, was there a note or something with it?" Asuka finally caught up with her daughter.

"No." Ayumi lied and immediately her mother deflated.

"I'm sure she's fine any way, where ever she is." Asuka assured her daughter and husband, and seemingly herself.

They did their best to move on past that, and Ayumi had her first enjoyable night with her family since Heavenly Host.

-:-:-

Ayumi nearly couldn't sleep that night. Part of it was excitement, part anxiety she trusted Hinoe but feared most spiritual interventions, thanks to Heavenly Host and these dreams that haunted her now. Eventually, amidst much tossing and turning, she managed to drift off. Soon after falling asleep, she felt a tugging on her subconscious, more accurately two things tugging. One felt familiar and warm, the other the chilling feel that she had felt during her time in Heavenly Host. Deciding this is what Hinoe went, she allowed the warm and familiar one to pull her away. Colours and shapes appeared before her, forming the figure of her sister sitting across from her at an unfamiliar coffee table in an unfamiliar room.

"Hinoe!" She exclaimed, trying to hug her across the table. Hinoe chuckled.

"Unfortunately, little sister, we are but subconscious forms, meaning we cannot touch." She paused thoughtfully. "If we were dead, that would be another matter, but fortunately neither of us are in that situation." Hinoe smiled at Ayumi. "So, what's up?"

"I've been having...nightmares. But first, where the hell are you and what are you doing?" Ayumi asked her abruptly, letting all her worry for her sister spill out.

"I can't tell you, Ayumi, and it's rather difficult to say." She said, frowning. "But I am safe. Please don't worry about me, and _please _don't tell our parents."

Ayumi smiled, "that goes without saying."

"Now, tell me about these nightmares." Hinoe commanded, staring intently at Ayumi. Ayumi paused for a moment to collect herself, then told her everything. All through her story, Hinoe just listened, nodding occasionally, but never interrupting. When Ayumi had finished, near tears, Hinoe reached out for her hand, seeming to forget that she couldn't touch her. "Do you know anything that could stop them?" Ayumi asked rather desperately.

"Oh, Ayumi, they're not nightmares." Ayumi nodded, she had suspected as much. "You're probably really tired of hearing this." She continued.

"What?" Ayumi asked slowly, suspicious of what her sister's solution was.

"You're going to have to appease the spirits."

-:-:-

**Sorry for the short chapter, I couldn't figure out how to flesh out those scenes. As always, please drop me a review letting me know what you think, even if you hate it (although then I'm not sure why you're reading chapter two)! Follow and fave if you think it deserves it.**

**- Felix**


End file.
